It is disappointing to me as an American Patriot to see the erosion of our collective appreciation of and allegiance to the American way of life.  We are losing focus on what it means to be an American. 

 

If you believe in our traditional American way of life, you know that individual freedoms and liberties reign supreme.  You accept "all men are created equal' and understand the responsibility to strive for equal opportunities for all.  You value and trust that the good nature of man will prevail.  You work hard for yourself and your family.  You expect others to do the same.  You expect your local, state, and national government to govern in a way that fosters and protects this way of life - at home and abroad.  This American way of life with freedoms and liberties is what elevates America over other nations. 

 

So, what is the justification and motivation for expanding the role of government and increasing its influence in America?  It is difficult to  reconcile the contrary beliefs of "government as the answer" with the American way of life guaranteed by our Founding Fathers.  Our constitutional freedoms and liberties helped to create an America that became the greatest country our world has ever seen.  And thankfully, today we are still the greatest country in the world. 

 

When government is the "answer" it imposes regulations and creates restrictions on our individual freedoms and liberties as Americans.  The more you restrict me with policy and government, then the more you reign over me.  Government becomes the sovereign.  What good comes from this?  What end are you seeking when you willing accept an expanded government role?  Some argue that government is necessary to ensure equality and fairness.  Yes, these valuable American ideas of equality and fairness should be protected and must be one of our government's goals.  A government that works to create or engineer equal outcomes - instead of opportunities - will destroy the spirit of Americans by favoring certain segments of our society. 

 

If our government imposes rules to engineer equal outcomes, we must be assuming that we need to correct the behavior of certain individuals or groups that exploited and cheated others to excel or rise above.  This is wrong.  It is a pessimistic and defeatist view that does not reflect a belief in the goodness of our American way of life.  We must accept that equal opportunity does not guarantee equal outcomes. 

 

Our great nation has withstood past transgressions by people who abused our American freedoms and liberties.  In most cases, we have rightly addressed the situation to foster equal opportunity for all under the law of our land.  Must we go so far to allow government to establish rules that try to guarantee desired outcomes and results?  This would be a compromise of our American way of life.  The U.S. Government acting as the sovereign and controlling outcomes... instead of the American individual.  Elevating government above the individual means abandoning the American promise of "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."